Malec One-Shots
by malectho
Summary: Latest one-shot: "Death is the only sure thing in life. Unless you're Magnus. Then you have to watch the love of your life die, and you just keep going. And with every decade that passes the pain never dulls, but your memory starts to fade. With his family gone, he feels alone. Until Alec manages to cheer him up from beyond the grave." All one-shots rated T, unless said otherwise
1. Chapter 1

**Malec One-Shot #1**

 **Summary: Alec didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Magnus has a client early in the morning, and when things don't go as expected, it quickly gets out of hand. (City of Heavenly Fire Spoilers.)**

 **A/N: Okay so this is going to be a long authors note so just bear with me. I am going to tell you right now this is not my best work. I actually wrote most of it last night, and while it started out okay, it kind of got out of hand the later the night got and as far as I know you might see it as a bunch of random dialogue. The end kind of became something else last minute.**

 **Also this is my first TMI fanfic. I read the books years ago, but I just got really into Malec again a couple months ago. Sorry if my knowledge on stuff is a little rusty.**

If a random stranger was to ever lay their eyes on Magnus Bane and all his glittery glory, they would never guess that he enjoys quiet moments. I mean sure, the man could throw quite the party, but there was something about silence that he thoroughly enjoyed. Perhaps it was the fact that he could be alone with his thoughts, three centuries worth of thoughts.

His favorite time was probably the mornings. For whatever reason he found it calming watching the sun seep through the curtains, hearing the sounds of birds that were occasionally drowned out by the sound or a car horn or alarm (they kind of come with the whole peace and quiet deal when you live in New York, or anywhere in Brooklyn). The best part though, the part he wouldn't trade for anything in the world, was waking up to his boyfriend every morning.

Alec hadn't been home when Magnus went to bed last night, which was about midnight. Magnus had become accustomed to him sneaking into bed in the wee hours of the night, after gallanting around the city on some wild goose chase-or more specifically demon chase. Magnus could always count on Alec to be there when he woke up.

Sure enough he was there today, he looked like a mess, but he was there. He was stilling his gear, and for some reason he was wearing one shoe. He had his face buried in his pillow, his raven hair at all angles, His boyfriend must have gotten in so late last night that he had been to exhausted to do anything but collapse into bed.

It was 9:00 am, and Magnus had a wealthy client coming in at 9:30. Usually he would never allow himself such little time to get ready, but seeing Alec like this was actually quite amusing and adorable. It was worth skipping his moisturizing routine (especially since he was an immortal warlock who never aged and henceforth never go wrinkles), and looking a little less fabulous.

Gently, he attempted to remove the arm Alec had draped across his chest, for which he received a groan in return. He turned over to see his boyfriend struggling to open his eyes, but it was like something was weighing his eyelids down.

"Where do you think you are going," Alec said talking into his pillow, and blindly reaching for the hand that Magnus had just used to remove his arm. "I just got home."

Magnus laughed, "It's 9 in the morning, what do you mean you just go here?"

"I mean that everyone was acting all annoying and coupley on patrol, and left after 15 minutes, which means I had to do it all by myself, and it took twice as long as usual," He explained groggily. "Sp I got back at eight."

"Hold on," Magnus said his voice oozing with annoyance. "They just left without asking you, even your parabati."

"Well they did ask me," Alec admitted. "And I may have insisted that they go. You know how much I hate saying no to them."

"Oh my poor baby," Magnus cooed jokingly. He took two fingers and used them tilt Alec's face up and away from his pillow so he could kiss him, but instead he found himself stifling a gasp.

"Alexander," Magnus said in astonishment. "What happened to your face."

"Well that's what every guy wants to hear from his boyfriend," Alec replied sounding hurt.

"No, I mean you're as beautiful as ever, you always are," Magnus insisted. "But your face is covered in scratches. Darling what happened? More importantly why didn't you use a healing rune."

"Honestly Magnus I'm so tired right now I only remember claws and something attaching itself to my face," Alec struggled to recall. "And as for the healing runes, I just didn't have the energy."

Alec didn't like letting people down, it was something that Magnus loved about him. However sometimes he wished that Alec would stop putting everyone's needs before his own. This is why shadowhunters weren't supposed to go hunting on their own, even Magnus knew that.

"Does it hurt?" Magnus asked, but Alec had already gone back to sleep. Magnus chuckled softly, and then gently kissed his boyfriends forehead, being careful to not wake him up, before getting out of bed.

Almost as soon as his feet touched the ground, there was a pounding at the door, which was strange because he had never buzzed anybody up, he assumed his client must be early. He looked down at himself, dressed in only a tshirt that said _don't dull my sparkles_ , and boxers. He sighed and then waved his hand, and in a second he was fully dressed. His outfit was simple compared to what he usually wears. A white dress shirt completely unbuttoned, save a few buttons at the bottom of the shirt, with a few necklaces hanging over his chest, and he had paired it with black leather pants.

Magnus walked briskly towards the front to, the knocking had become louder and more persistent, and he wanted to answer it as quickly as possible so they wouldn't wake up Alec.

"Well you aren't a 4'8 bisexual faerie are you?" Magnus said after opening the door.

"Congratulations on your free upgrade," Jace Herondale quipped before walking past Magnus and into his apartment.

"Please do come in," Magnus muttered through gritted teeth.

"Oh by the way that faerie won't be coming today," Jace informed him. "Or ever again."

"What are you talking about," Magnus questioned.

"Well he saw me coming into the building, and then proceeded to run away in the opposite direction," He said and then laughed, "Man they really don't like us right now."

"You have got to be kidding," Magnus rubbed his face with his hands, completely exasperated.

"No seriously they really hate us," Jace assured him. "I mean if they were allowed to carry weapons they'd probably kill us."

"You just cost me one of my best customers Herondale," Magnus snapped. Usually, he didn't lose his temper, but all of Alec's friends were starting to get on his nerves. The war was over, but they continued to come to him with every little problem they had, giving him nothing in return.

"Good so that means your schedule is all freed up," Jace pointed out. "I need your help with something."

If this had been anybody else, he would have thrown their ass out on the street in nothing but their socks. But this was Jace, the only person that Alec loved almost as much as him. So instead he just asked: "What do you want?"

"I'm so glad you asked Bane," Jace said clasping his hands together. "Now I was doing some reading from old Herondale journals that Maryse dug up while visiting the institute in London, and I read about something called Demon Pox-"

"Oh no, not again," Magnus remarked shaking his head, and then mumbled to himself, "What is it with you Herondales and that stupid disease."

Jace either ignored Magnus, or he didn't care, because he continued to keep talking. "It was some pretty interesting stuff, I mean there is even a song about it. I think it went like _'Demon pox, oh, demon-"_

"Get to the point," Magnus begged.

"Okay fine. So I had a brilliant idea, what if you, like weaponized it," Jace explained. "I feel like it could be really useful when fighting demons. I mean you would have to find a way to speed up the reaction time, because it doesn't take affect right after infection, but I have absolute faith in you my glittery warlock friend."

"You are certifiably insane," Magnus said crossing his arms. "First of all, demon pox is a sexually transmitted disease. Also even if I were able to make this for you, and you used _demon pox_ on a _demon,_ it wouldn't kill them, it would just turn them into a giant worm, which is probably five times worse then what you would have been fighting originally."

Jace just shrugged, his golden eyes staring at him blankly. "I know that. Sometimes I like to challenge myself, mix things up a bit."

All Magnus wanted to do was scream at Jace. It was this kind of irresponsible, inconsiderate behavior that cause Alec to get hurt in the first place. Did Jace even consider how his actions could hurt others? Yet for some reason, Magnus found himself trying to figure out how to bottle demon pox.

His train of thought got interrupted by the doorbell, followed by the sound of what could only be the sound of Isabelle screaming bloody murder.

"Open up Bane, or I'm going to break down the damn down door," Isabelle Lightwood.

"Seriously who keeps letting you people into my building?" Magnus asked Jace.

"Some old lady who's mad at you," He answered. "She said your cat ate her pet rat."

"Chairman Meow is a cat of the highest standards," Magnus declared. "He'd never do something so disgusting and improper."

As Magnus made his way back towards the door Jace called after him "I've seen your cat lick its own butt."

Magnus opened the door and nearly, closed it the second he did. There was Isabelle, looking like she was about to explode, and next to her was Simon, who was staring at the ground. The sight was enough to make the high warlock of Brooklyn fear for his life.

Just like Jace, Isabelle invited herself in, except what she did was more of storming in, dragging Simon with her. Ever since Simon had Ascended and spent some time at the academy, he had bulked up, although he was still fairly skinny. Runes were up and down his arm, and even more were covered up by his grey v neck. Magnus was genuinely glad at how far Simon had come and that he had gotten back a semblance of his former life, after all, the boy had saved his life.

"Hey Izzy," Jace exclaimed.

"Yeah uh huh," Isabelle said obviously not paying attention. "Magnus I have a question."

"And what would that be," Magnus asked resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Well is my boyfriend a dick or does he really not remember that today is the anniversary of the first day that we spent time alone in a non-nephlim related setting."

"Magnus, would you please tell Isabelle that there is no way I would remember something so small," Simon asked.

"Seriously?" Magnus asked, raising an eyebrow. "You think I would know if this was one of the memories that has come back to him."

Just when Isabelle looked like she was about to lose it, the door flew open, nearly hitting Simon and knocking him over.

"Magnus I need you to help me find something," Clary announced before she even had both feet through the door.

"Wow you get right to the point don't you biscuit," Magnus said trying to make his annoyance evident. Surely out of all of Alec's friends , Clary would be smart enough to take a hint.

"Yeah well I'm kind of in a rush," Clary explained, sadly oblivious to his tone of voice. "I really need you to find something for me it's a book of runes and apparently nobody has been able to pin down its location for centuries but I was thinking that maybe if y-"

"I'm going to stop you right there sweetie," Jace interrupted his girlfriend. "Clary I love you. Izzy, I love you. Simon…well you're dating Isabelle and Clary's best friend so I guess you're okay."

"Jace where are you going with this," Isabelle said tapping her foot impatiently.

"Well dear sister it's quite simple…" Jace began, walking towards Isabelle so he was practically in her face. "I GOT HERE FIRST SO MAGNUS IS MINE!"

"Oh shut up Jace," Isabelle screamed. "Alec is my brother so Magnus is going to help me first."

'Oh please, he's my brother too," Jace pointed out. "And my parabati."

"I've known him the longest," Clary argued, while moving so she was in between the two.

"I've got you all beat," Simon chimed in. "I saved his life. So Magnus why don't you tell Isabelle I'm right."

"Okay why don't all of you just sit down in the living room and I'll help you all one at a time, " Magnus promised.

"Yes but I'm going to go first, right?" Jace insisted.

"Let it go Jace" Isabelle said rolling her eyes.

Ever since Magnus had moved to New York, he had never lost his cool with a client, even though some of them were total morons. He'd been threatened, attacked, stabbed in the shouolder, somebody once was stupid enough to try and shoot him, and finally somebody released scorpions into his apartment. Yet nobody had ever pissed him off more than the four teenage nephlim, that were acting like five year olds, were right now. He loved Alec, loved him more than he'd ever loved anyone or anything, but he was dating him, not the entire New York Institute.

He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, somebody took the words right out of his mouth.

" By the Angel, would you all just shut up!"

For a moment everyone just froze, because even though everyone knew who it was right away, they'd rarely ever heard him raise his voice like that.

Jace was the first one to turn around, which in heinsight was not the best idea.

"Bro, what happened to your face?" He asked. Clary was the next person to turn around, simply so she could slap him in the chest.

"Alexander I'm so sorry," Magnus began. "Go back to sleep I'll help them and we'll be quiet."

"Actually, going back to sleep his probably not the best idea because we're supposed to train in about an hour," Jace reminded him.

"You're kidding me, right? You expect me to spend the day training with you after I spent the whole night doing your job," Alec said.

"You said you were okay with it," Isabelle said.

"Of course I wasn't okay with it! I have a hot boyfriend, I'dl like to get home to at a decent hour," Alec exclaimed. It was clear to everyone that it was the sleep deprivation making him say all of this, but the words were his. He just never had the guts to say it, and now that he wasn't thinking clearly, there was nothing stopping him, and all hell was going to break lose.

"You," Alec started pointing a finger accusingly at Magnus, "Are going to come back to bed with me because you are done helping them with every petty problem."

"I thought that you wanted me to help them," Magnus told him. "I mean, they are your family, and you love them."

"True, but I also love you and I can tell that they are driving you crazy," Alec explained as he began to pull at his hair in frustration "And plus its starting to bug me that they can't seem to do things for themselves."

"Okay, I hear what you are saying, but what you don't understand is that this is very important," Jace tried to explain.

"No Jace it isn't. Trust me, I know you and it isn't," Alec rolled his eyes. "Unless it's a matter of life and death, or you're going to pay his fee, you are going to start solving your problems on your own."

"What are you saying?" Clary inquired.

"I'm saying," Alec breathed, "That Jace is going to stop coming here for stupid things that will only cause a bigger problem in the long run. Isabelle what ever ridiculous anniversary you've made up in your head is probably as stupid and insignificant as the rest, and there is no way Simon would remember it. Simon you're still going to by her flowers and take her to dinner and pretend to care because she's your girlfriend and you love her. And Clary, well, I honestly don't know what you want because you are actually pretty good about not bothering us, but its probably about books or art or something else really smart and sophisticated and its probably impossible to find, so instead you're going to go train with Jace since I can't make it, because I'm going to be relaxing and spending the day with my boyfriend. Does everyone understand, or do I have to say it again?"

Jace started to raise his hand, like he wanted to say something to push his buttons, because that was just what he did, but Clary grabbed his hand and tried to pass it off like he'd been reaching for her hand. The funny thing is, that he didn't protest, he just stood there hand in hand with Clary, because when he thought about it what Alec said made sense even to him.

"Damn guys I'm sorry," Jace began. "Its just that ever since you two moved in together, I've been really bored what with not having anyone around. I guess I've just been trying to spice things up."

"I'm sorry too," Isabelle added, except she was directing it towards Simon. "It's just that Clary and Jace, and Alec and Magnus are all so happy and serious, I just wanted to prove that we were too."

Simon leaned over and kissed her cheek "Who cares if we aren't exactly like them. Sure we've lost some time because I lost my memories for awhile, but I still love you."

"I'm sorry too," Clary added. "I guess that since everything ended with the whole Sebastian thing, I've been trying to prove that I'm still useful."

"Well this is the best ending to a cheap sitcom about family values that I have ever seen," Magnus sighed and then clasped his hands together in front of his chest. "But I believe my boyfriend told you to leave, and I can't say I totally disagree with him."

Everyone just stood there for awhile, as if they still couldn't fully comprehend what had just happened. Then to emphasize his point, Magnus flicked his wrist and the front door opened. As they walked out everyone muttered their goodbyes.

As soon as they had left, and the only shadowhunter left in the apartment was the one that actually lived there.

"You know love," Magnus said as he locked the door. "Seeing you get all mad and in charge like that was actually pretty hot. If you weren't so tired I would probably be all over you." When there was no reply Magnus turned back towards the staircase "Alexander?"

Alec was laying on the stair case, his eyes only half open, and when Magnus saw the blue eyed boy struggle to hold back a yawn, he knew that he would very well crash there if he could.

"All I heard you say was that I was hot," Alec mumbled as he tried to nuzzle is head against the wooden stairs. "I mean I have a stamina rune if you really have to…"

Magnus laughed, it wasn't everyday that he got to see Alec be anything less than shy and serious. He'd always wanted to see Alec be spontaneous and surprise him in someway, he wanted to know if there was a different side to him. Here he was, sleep deprvied and somehow managing to stand up for himself and act like a total dork at the same time, and Magnus found that he didn't love him anymore than he did before. That wasn't even a bad thing, if anything it made Magnus beyond ecstatic. It meant that even if Alec ever did change, whether it be physically or mentally, his love for him would stay the same. Alec was Alec and that would always be enough for him.

Magnus took a few steps towards Alec, and then took his hands and pulled him up. He didn't stop when Alec was on his feet, no, he kept pulling him closer to him until they were kissing. It wasn't necessarily a passionate kiss, instead it was a gentle one, the kind that could go on for hours, the kind that somebody could live off of. It took Alec a few seconds to actually realize what was happening, but when he did he wrapped his arms around Magnus' neck for support.

The kiss it self went on for a minute or so, although if either boy had their way it would have lasted an eternity. Magnus eventually pulled away but not before he planted a quick kiss on Alec's cheek.

"Well I'm awake now," Alec teased, keeping his arms around the warlock. "What was that for?"

"Just being you," Magnus whispered, before giving into temptation and kissing him again, this time with a litte more passion, which by his definition meant a lot more tongue.

"I think I'll be me a bit more often," Alec breathed.

"Please never stop," Magnus said.

"That stamina rune is definitely not off the table," Alec offerd, but even as he tried to look into his eyes, Magnus could see his eyelids getting heavy.

"As tempting as that offer is," Magnus told him. "I really think we ought to get you back to bed."

"Your loss," Alec said with a lazy smile, and he turned around starting to clumsily stumble up the stairs. For a moment Magnus actually considered carrying him, but he knew what kind of reaction that would get and it wasn't pretty. So he just kept his hand on the small of his back guiding up the stairs.

When they reached the bedroom Alec didn't even take time to get under the covers, or let his head find a pillow, he just flopped down at the edge of the bed. Magnus then proceeded to move him around and get him situated, despite the moans of protest.

"Hey if I'm going to spend the whole day in bed with you then you need to be in the perfect position for cuddling," Magnus told him.

"What?" Alec asked actually taking the time to open one eye.

"Well the way I see it, your friends scared away my client, and ruined what could have been a very peaceful morning," Magnus explained. "So we're going to make up for it."

Alec managed a small laugh, "Suit yourself, if you want to be bored out of your mind all day go ahead."

Magnus just shook his head, and then climbed into bed with the young shadowhunter. He wrapped his arms around his waist and rested his chin on his shoulder, and as he layed there he watched the steady rise and fall of Alec's chest.

Magnus might enjoy quiet mornings, but as long as he was with his Alec for even a second, it was a perfect day.

 **Well I hope you enjoyed whatever that nonsense was. If you didn't read the author's note in the beginning, I actually wrote this in the middle of the night while I was sleep deprived, so it isn't my best work. Hopefully I'll right another that isn't mostly dialogue after I've slept. Whatever it is you think of it please leave it in a review. Follow the story in case I post more one shots in the future.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Response to Reviews:**_

 _ **Beey95: Aww thank you, you are the sweetest. I guess I don't have a lot of confidence in my writing. You know how sometimes you feel like you're just rambling on, that's kind of how I felt, but as long as you liked it I'm happy.**_

 **Title: Sweater Weather**

 **Summary: Magnus actually enjoys the holes in Alec's sweaters. Based off of the song Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood, but interpreted in a way that isn't sexual. Set a couple years in the future.**

 **A/N: I don't know if this has been done before, I just thought it was a good idea. It is a little short, but hey, some one-shots are. This story has been burning a hole in my lap top for about a week and I thought hey this is pretty good, so why not? I mean if you like it, great…if you don't, well sorry but no harm done.**

 _All I am is a man, I want the world, in my hands_

"Alexander would you explain to me why I found the Chairman clawing his was out of a garbage bag full of your sweaters," Magnus asked.

"What-oh, I guess I just kind of got in the zone," Alec replied continuing to shove sweaters into a bag. "You know, for a guy who hates fashion I sure have a lot of sweaters."

Magnus raised an eyebrow as he watched Alec tie the bag at the top and then sling it over his back before walking out of the bedroom. Confused, Magnus peeked into Magnus' drawers, and found only a few v-necks and black skinny jeans. It was all stuff that he only wore while he was training or hunting. In fact there wasn't a ratty old sweater in sight.

He walked downstairs to where Alec had three bags lined up against the wall, one had been torn up by Chairman Meow, and Alec was in the middle of transferring his sweaters to a new bag.

"Okay new question," Magnus said while leaning against the wall. "Why did you nearly suffocate my cat while packing up all your sweaters, that you love, by the way."

"Well I don't anymore, okay?" Alec insisted, yet he still wouldn't look at his boyfriend's cat like eyes. "I'm turning twenty one next week, it's time for me to grow up and start dressing my age."

 _I hate the beach, but I stand, in California with my toes in the sand_

Magnus still wasn't buying it. When you have been alive for as long as he has, you develop sort of a built in lie detector. The more Magnus knew somebody, the better it worked, and he knew Alec better than anybody.

"Do you want to go shopping with me later," Alec asked standing up and away from his bags. "I'm going to need you to help me find new clothes."

"Oh Alexander, you don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that," Magnus teased. "But instead I'm going to help you put all of your stuff back in your dressers."

"Excuse me? What makes you think you have a right to do that?" Alec accused him. "I want to get rid of them so I'm going to get rid of them."

"You see I know that's not true. You know that's not true," Magnus objected. "You're always cold and can't stay in shorts sleeves for more than a few hours, it's a battle to get you into any kind of suit, and you have never even considered wearing any other kind of shirt. You're making yourself miserable on purpose."

 _Head in the clouds, but my gravity's centered_

When you're a shadowhunter, you know when you're trapped, and Alec could tell that he'd gotten himself tangled in one. He'd been trained to start looking for a way out the moment he found himself cornered, but for once he could see no escape.

"Nobody in the Clave takes me seriously," Alec said throwing his hands up in the air before walking away from Magnus.

"What are you talking about," Magnus inquired, following Alec as he attempted to get away and avoid the conversation.

"I am a _gay_ shadowhunter," Alec began. "Jace and Isabelle are the strong ones they've always been the strong ones. People care about what they have to say."

The warlock reached out and grabbed his boyfriend by the shoulder and spun him around. Magnus had heard the hurt in Alec's voice, but Alec could see the pain was even more evident in Magnus'eyes. It took him a second to realize why, Magnus thought he was ashamed of him, ashamed of their relationship.

"I mean I love you," Alec assured him, reaching for his hand. "And I'm proud of who I am. But I want people to see me as more than the gay kid who's dating the High Warlock of Brooklyn. The only time anyone outside of my family talks to me, is when they want something from you. I want people to see that being gay isn't the only thing useful about me, I can be useful, I can be strong."

For a moment Magnus was silent, deep in thought. Then he lifted Alec's hand to lips and kissed his knuckles. "Okay I guess I understand how you're feeling," Magnus remarked. "But what I don't understand is what any of this has to do with the sweaters."

Alec sighed, "What I said about wanting to look more serious is true. I figured if people saw me dressed more like Jace and all the other nephlims they'd be willing to look past the whole gay thing."

After he had explained everything, Magnus just stared at him. It made Alec feel like his own boyfriend was judging him, like he was disappointed. He couldn't stand to feel that way, so he turned away and pretended to be focused on a painting on the wall. Instead he was biting his lip to try and keep himself from crying. So much for not being weak.

 _And these hearts adore. Everyone the other beats hardest for. Inside this place is warm, outside it starts to pour._

Suddenly he felt two arms wrapped around his waist, and he was instantly filled with the warmth that he had been missing without his sweater. Magnus kissed him on the cheek, and then rested his chin on the shadowhunter's shoulder.

"You know, some people think Alexander the Great was gay," He whispered in his ear. "And he never lost a battle."

This actually made Alec laugh, "First of all I am no Alexander the Great. Second of all, there was no way he was gay."

"Would it matter if he was," Magnus questioned. "Would it change everything he did."

"Actually he would have probably been killed," Alec pointed out.

"You are missing the point, darling," Magnus insisted.

"Maybe that's because I don't know what the point is," Alec told him.

"The point is that I love you, and I love your sweaters," Magnus explained. "And if anything you are better than Alexander the Great. You were brave enough to go in front of everyone and show them who you really are. And you never let who you really are stand in the way of what you want to do. And you know what if other people can't accept how truly wonderful you are, then to hell with them, because it's their loss."

"That's great and all," Alec sighed. "But I still want them to listen to me."

"Well then Alexander make them," Magnus urged. "If you need me to come and magically glue all of them to their seats I will, but don't you dare go changing for other people. I'm not saying that it won't be hard, but you'll get there eventually. And until then you have me to tell you how much I love your sweaters."

Alec's blue eyes were wide, and Magnus pause a second to take him in. Eventually, he playfully kissed Alec, the nephlim had to turn his head at a rather awkward position since Magnus was still behind him, but it was worth it. Any kiss with him was worth it no matter how long it was.

When it was over, Alec turned around so he was face to face with Magnus, but he made sure that his boyfriend's arms remained around him.

Alec let out a long exasperated sigh, "Well this really sucks."

"What?" Magnus wondered.

"It looks like I'm going to have to spend the rest of the night unpacking all these sweaters," He said and then laced his thumbs in Magnus' belt loops and pulled him closer, "And I would rather be doing something much more exciting."

"I have an idea," Magnus said while tracing Alec's face with one of his long fingers "How about I help you put them back, then get you into one of those sweaters, and we should have time to do something that will entertain the both of us."

 _Cause it's too cold, for you here. And now, so let me hold both your hands, in the holes of my sweater._

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this short little thing. Me updating this soon is a rare occurrence, I'm just going to tell you that right now. If you have any requests please let me know, it makes it a lot easier for me to write.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** **What to Do When You Lose a Demon Spawn**

 **Summary: Magnus has been in Switzerland for two weeks, and he left the Chairman with Alec. However when Alec has to step out suddenly, he leaves Magnus' beloved cat with Jace. What happens when Alec gets back, and the cat is gone?**

" _Alec!"_ Jace shouted in terror from the kitchen.

The blue eyed shadowhunter jumped up from the couch, where he'd been staring blankly at the tv screen. He had no idea what was on, he didn't care, all he was doing was trying to pass the time. Magnus had been gone nearly two weeks, and the loft had felt unsettling empty. So everyday he had invited somebody over to him company. Once he had been so desperate he had even invited Simon over, who only seemed to want to ask him questions about Isabelle, and as awkward as that was, it had been better than nothing.

Today, he'd invited Jace over. He had been expecting a lazy day where he made casual conversation with his parabati, while silently counting the hours until his boyfriend would be home. Instead he heard what could be categorized by a girlish shriek followed by cursing.

He walked briskly into the kitchen, not quite worried enough to run, because this was Jace after all. Not only did he have a tendency to overreact, but he could damn well take care of himself. When he got there, Jace was holding his finger up to his mouth and clutching his wrist.

"Jace what the hell," Alec asked. Jace looked up at him, furrowed his brow, and scowled.

"Your stupid cat, bit my hand," Jace raged.

"Actually, he's Magnus' cat," Alec pointed out.

"Oh really, so _now,_ he's Magnus' cat. What happened to all that 'what's his is mine and what's mine is his' crap you were going on and on about?" Jace demanded.

Alec walked over to wear Chariman Meow was lounging on the kitchen counter, his head hanging off the edge. He scratched him behind the ears, and the cat nuzzled his head against his hand in appreciation.

"You probably provoked him," Alec insisted. "I mean you are my best friend, my brother, and I love you, but you are extremely irritating seventy five percent of the time."

"You are siding with the cat instead of me," Jace accused him.

Alec ran his fingers through his raven colored hair in frustration, "I am not going to have this argument with you." He walked over to the cupboard where and took out the cat food, when the Chariman saw this he leaped down from the counter and went to sit by his food bowl expectantly.

To be honest, Alec had never been a cat person. However, Magnus had made it perfectly clear when they first met that he only dated people that his cat liked. At first, he'd found this strange. Then he realized that despite the fact that his warlock threw party after party, the only real friends he had were Catarina…and his cat. To Magnus friendship wasn't worth it, losing people was too painful, especially when you lived forever. Being in love was worth it, that was one thing, but to him friendship just caused unnecessary agony. Now Alec didn't know if it was because Chairman Meow was a cat and not human; so it was easier to love him, or if it was because deep down he was really lonely, but that cat meant a lot to him.

"This cat is out to get me," Jace said, eyeing the Chairman suspiciously.

"Well lucky for you Magnus is going to be home Monday," Alec sighed wistfully. "And trust me, we aren't going to want anyone here for a _long_ time."

"Wait, dude, I thought you said Magnus was coming back tomorrow?" Jace said trying to get the mental image of Alec's last statement out of his head.

"He is, he left on Monday two weeks ago, so he's going to be back tomorrow," Alec explained. "Exactly two weeks, just like he said."

"Alec today is Monday," Jace told him.

"No, no it isn't," Alec said shaking his head, and his heart beat started to speed up. He took his phone out of his back pocket, looked at his lock screen, and sure enough, it said today was Monday. How had he let time go by so quickly?

In an instant, Alec was making his way to the coat closet. He put on his black overcoat, along with one of the many blue scarves that Magnus had picked out for him.

"I am so stupid," Alec said to Jace when he joined him. "How did I not know what day it was."

"Shouldn't it be a good thing that Sir Sparkles is coming home today," Jace questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"No-I mean yes- of course it is," Alec stammered. "But he gave me a whole list of errands that he needed me to take care of before he got back. I was going to do them later tonight. Damn this is what I get for procrastinating."

"Well if you're leaving, I am going to have an early dinner with Clary," Jace announced reaching for his coat but Alec stepped between the two.

"No, I need you to stay and clean up, there isn't going to be time for me to when I get back," Alec explained as he started slipping his feet into his boots. "If Magnus gets back and sees Chinese takeout containers everywhere, he's going to get all smothery and claim I'm not taking care of myself."

"Damn you Alec Lightwood," Jace chuckled. "You know how much I like for things to be neat. Now that you pointed it out I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about it until I fix it."

"I knew your OCD wouldn't fail me," Alec responded. "Oh also can you keep an eye on Chairman, he's been a little antsy lately, I don't think he likes that Magnus has been gone so long."

Jace put his hands out in front of him, palms facing Alec defensively, and took a step back, "You're going to leave me alone with that murderous beast."

"Well I can't very well take him with me can I," Alec laughed, "You hunt demons for a living, I think you'll be fine." With that, Alec rushed out the door, not giving Jace any time to protest.

Jace locked the door behind him and took a deep breath. When he turned around, he found Chairman Meow staring at him, his tail tucked between his paws.

"Okay Mini Satan here's how this is going to work," Jace began. "You stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of yours."

The tiny cat hissed at him, causing Jace to jump back in alarm, before he proudly sauntered off down the hall.

"That's what I thought," Jace muttered.

 _2 hours later_

"You know, I had my doubts about you being able to clean this place up in time," Alec admitted. He and Jace were in Magnus' study, Alec was taking out the ingredients, that his boyfriend had asked him to procure while he was away, in a cabinet.

"I have been known to exceed expectations," Jace bragged, as he continued to sift through the bags that Alec had brought home. Every time he did so, Alec had to slap his hand away.

"Some of this stuff is dangerous," Alec reminded him. "And trouble seems to follow you everywhere when you just give it a reason to.

Alec knew something was wrong when he got no sarcastic reply. He turned to face the blonde, only to see that he was staring out of the window in the study that overlooked Brooklyn.

"Jace?" Alec inquired as he put the last ingredient away. "What's wrong?"

Jace's eyes shifted nervously, but eventually he swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke up. "Okay just promise you won't get mad," Jace paused, and Alec responded by nodding his head. "I lost your cat."

"What do you mean you lost him?" Alec asked trying to stay calm, but it was very hard to surpress.

"Well I wasn't paying attention to him, and then I realized that nothing had been viciously assaulting me for awhile…and then I realized I left some windows open."

"Why the hell would you leave windows open," Alec exploded.

"Well this place smelled like rotten eggs, thanks to your great housekeeping skills. I was trying to vent it out," Jace argued. "You promised you weren't going to get angry."

"I thought you'd put a red socks in a load of whites or something and ruined all of our clothes," Alec explained. "I didn't think you lost his cat. I mean I was pretty sure he was going to kill you when I thought you'd messed up his clothes, but now I know he is definitely going to kill you."

"Well he's not going to be too thrilled with you either," Jace protested. "You are the one who left me with him. Seriously I lost a goldfish what the hell were you thinking."

"I was thinking that Magnus was going to be home soon and I really needed to-" He stopped midsentence and, slapping his forehead. "By the Angel, Magnus is going to be home any minute. I can't tell him…are you sure you looked everywhere?"

"No Alec, I just looked under the bed and gave up," Jace said sarcastically. "Get your head out of your ass, do you really think I want to get vaporized by a warlock, of course I looked everywhere. I even opened a new bag of food because he always comes when he hears that."

"This is bad Jace this is really ba-" He was interrupted by a loud bang in the living room. It was a sound he had been waiting for ever since Magnus left, the unmistakable sound of a portal opening.

"Magnus is coming home," Alec said smiling like an idiot.

"Um Alec," Jace said his voice steady but with a hint of fear. " _Magnus is home."_

"Okay here is what you're going to do," Alec said and he started pushing Jace towards the door. "He probably went through a window or something so you are going to go outside and look for him. He couldn't have gotten far. If you don't find him in one piece I swear-"

"Slow down, let me put my shoes and coat on first," Jace chuckled, which just made Alec angry.

"Sorry no time," Alec apologized and then opened the door and shoved him through it.

"Alec it's like thirty degrees outs-" But Alec didn't hear the rest because he had already slammed the door in his face.

"Honey, I'm home," Magnus sang jokingly.

Alec was grinning from ear to ear again, the whole thing with the Chairman pushed to the back of him mind, it was still there, but not nearly as important as it had once been.

When he walked into the living room and saw Magnus, he became aware that he was in sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt. Magnus on the other hand was wearing a grey suit vest, with a black dress shirt unbuttoned halfway underneath, and black leather pants. Even his hair had somehow remained perfect despite going through a portal.

"Wow I've been gone for two weeks and I don't even get a hug," Magnus said putting his hand to his chest pretending to be hurt.

"Oh you're getting much more than a hug," Alec assured his warlock, and he proceeded to take three steps towards him and, wrapping his arms around his next and pulled him close, and kissed him passionately. It was all of the kisses they had missed, plus a few more, combined into one. He didn't even time to react, because after only a few seconds Magnus was pushing him against the wall, but at the same time refusing to break the kiss.

After about five minutes of this, Magnus suddenly pulled back, using the wall to brace himself, and keeping his forehead pressed against Alec's.

"I missed you," Magnus whispered, and as cheesy as it sounds, Alec swore that his smile sparkled more than the glittery warlock did.

"Well you should have called me then," Alec said rolling his eyes, but only for a moment because he couldn't bear to keep his eyes off of him.

"I told you before I left that the area of Switzerland I was going to be in was extremely remote. Cell service was spotty at best,"

"I know a solution to that," Alec offered. "Never go to Switzerland, or anywhere else again."

Magnus laughed, "Oh you don't have to worry about that. It was much too cold for me there."

"Oh, and New York isn't," Alec asked him.

"Yes well here I have a loft with heat, while I was in Switzerland I was in a-actually where I was isn't important," Magnus said realizing that if Alec found out where in Switzerland he had been he would get upset. He waited for Alec to realize that he had was hiding something, but he was to wrapped up in his own problems to notice.

"Come on let's just sit on the couch and talk, you must be exhausted," He said and took his boyfriend by the hand and practically dragged him to the love seat.

"Wow I've been gone two weeks and all you want to do is talk?" Magnus complained, as he sat down. "Is this supposed to be some form of punishment?"

"What, no? Of course not," Alec said, as he sat down next to Magnus. "It's just that Jace is going to come over soon, and I don't want us to be occupied when he gets here."

"Then call him and tell him to go home," Magnus asked laying his head back in annoyance.

Alec glanced at the door "I would but he should be bringing something really important over, and I think we should just wait."

Magnus raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. He reached out and drew Alec closer to him, and Alec buried his head in his chest. "Next time I have to go away I'm taking you with me. Especially if it's somewhere cold. You and your sweaters can keep me warm."

Saying that made Alec blush, and it still amazed Alec that his boyfriend was able to do that even after all this time, even after he had gotten over most of his insecurities.

For about ten minutes and they just sat there like that. Magnus used his thumb to rub circles on Alec's shoulder, and Alec kept tilting his head up to kiss Magnus.

"You know you are making this whole waiting for Jace thing really-"Suddenly he stopped mid sentence and Alec looked up at him.

"What's wrong?" Alec asked his voice full of concern. He followed Magnus' eyes and saw he was looking at the chair where Jace had left his coat and shoes. "Oh Magnus it's not what you think."

"Well what I'm thinking is that there is another man's coat and shoes in _my_ apartment," Magnus said simply, but his voice was very obviously shaking. "And now I'm wondering what I'm going to find if I go into our bedroom."

Alec doubled over laughing, the fact that Magnus thought he'd be able to pick up another guy was almost hilarious. It took all of him to ask Magnus out.

"Alexander I'm being serious," Magnus said staring at Alec like he was crazy.

"Magnus," Alec said reaching for his hand's, and Magnus hesitantly let him take them. "That is Jace's stuff."

"But you said-"Magnus started.

Alec's heart sank when he realized he was going to have to tell Magnus what had happened. Magnus had trusted him and he had lost the Chairman. He squeezed Magnus's hand even tighter.

"I'm not going to get into all the details because it's not important, but I had to go out so I called Jace over and asked to watch the Chairman. When I got back Jace told me Chairman was gone, and I sent him out to go look for him, right before you got here," Alex explained, he looked at Magnus but he was expressionless. "Magnus say something."

Now it was Magnus' turn to laugh, and after a few seconds of trying to control himself, he did. "Oh darling you didn't lose my cat."

"Magnus yes I did, and the fact that Jace isn't back yet…" Alec trailed off.

"Chairman Meow absolutely hates Jace, I realized that a few months ago," Magnus told him. "So I made him a little hiding spot he goes there whenever he's alone with him. I mean I understood, your parabati is quite a nuisance."

"Really," Alec said, relief seeping out of his voice.

"One second," Magnus said, kissing Alec on his forehead, and got off the sofa. Then he retreated into the hallway.

After about two minutes Magnus returned, holding the Chairman between his arms with a smile plastered on his face.

Alec got up and walked over to Magnus, who was putting Chairman Meow on the ground. He grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him into a kiss. This time he had no intention of stopping it. Magnus, who was completely caught off guard, brought one hand up to Alec's face and cupped it. Pretty soon the shadowhunter started pulling Magnus' shirt.

"Oh by the Angel I did not want see that," Jace shrieked from behind them.

Alec stopped kissing Magnus and spun around, and Jace was standing there with a horrified look on his face.

"Oh please Herondale," Magnus said. "This is nothing compared to what we have to watch what you and Clary do all the time.

Jace scowled, "I found your cat by the way." For the first time he saw the ball of fluff in Jace's hands.

"That is not my cat," Magnus said shaking his head.

"Sure it is," Jace winked at Alec. "It's not like I'm trying pass off some random cat I found in the alley behind your building as yours."

"Jace, that cat is orange," Alec said stifling a laugh.

"Your cat isn't orange?" Jace asked, and it was clear to everyone that he seriously had no idea what Chairman Meow looked like. No wonder he hated him.

"We already found him," Alec said.

"Now if you would excuse we're going to get back to what we were doing whether you're here or not," Magnus grabbed Alec's waist and turned him back towards him, capturing his lips in his. For once Alec didn't care that somebody was watching. Most of the time PDA bothered him but this time he didn't care. This was Magnus. They'd been apart for two weeks and he realized he never wanted to be apart from him again.

" _Will somebody please tell me what I'm supposed to do with this?"_ Jace asked holding the cat out in front of him, even though he knew neither of them were listening.

 **Sorry for the really abrupt ending, I had no idea what to do. Anyway I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review, the next chapter will be up by Friday or earlier. Prompts are always welcome, and if the I get inspired I may even write it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Truth of Life Without You**

 **Summary:** _Alec used to picture what it would be like if he had never met Magnus, if he had never been in his life. But those were fantasies. And now those fantasies have come true, and in the most painful way. Heavy angst. Not for fluff lovers._

Sometimes Alec would wonder what might have happened if he hadn't met Magnus. Would he have stayed in the closet forever? Would his misguided affection for Jace continued until it came out in some unfortunate circumstance. Would he have found somebody else...

The thing is, Alec could not imagine his life without Magnus. No matter how he tried to conjure up some alternate reality, Magnus always ended up showing his pretty little face in it.

He knew that Jace would tease him for being unrealistic, he'd tell him that there are infinite circumstances in which he and Magnus would have never met. That he was kidding himself for believing that they'd always find him. That is just the kind of person Jace was, he was an eternal realist. However he knew, if anybody had asked him the same question, but with him and Clary, he would say the exact opposite.

Clary seemed to believe that everything happened for a reason. She would probably tell him that one way or another him and Magnus would find a way to be together. Even against all odds.

Isabelle would have scolded him for even thinking such thoughts. He could picture her telling him that even wondering about a life without Magnus, was unhealthy.

In the back of his mind, Alec knew that Isabelle was right. That filling his mind with these vile thoughts, would just cause him pain. Even if none of it would true. In fact none of it would ever be true. Despite all the pain and countless tears, Magnus had managed to have a permanent place in his life...his mortal life.

Maybe that was why he would lay awake at night imagining a world in which he didn't have Magnus. While he was mortal and could always count on Magnus to be there, he knew that Magnus didn't have that same luxury. There would come a time where Magnus would have to live without him, because Alec had an expiration date.

He hadn't known it at the time, but Magnus had treated every moment with him like a gift. He didn't understand why every time they made eye contact, he reached for his hand. Or why every time Alec came home at night, Magnus kissed him slowly. He certainly hadn't understood why at his father's funeral he had held him so tightly, as if he was going to disappear.

If Alec had known what was going to happen, he would have stopped torturing himself with the idea of some fake reality in which Magnus had never come into his life, and instead he would have enjoyed every second of the one in which he did. Because now, as he stood staring at the tombstone, he wished he had Magnus hear to hold him so tightly, because he felt like he was going to fall apart without having someone to hold him together.

Alec was sure that if Magnus had been here, he would have complained that the whole things was to dull. The man would have turned a funeral into a party. He knew that a party would have been celebrating Magnus' life, but to Alec it would be like celebrating the fact that he was gone. That he wasn't there anymore.

The night before Alec found himself overwhelmed with the same thoughts of what life would have been like without Magnus. It wasn't the same as before though. This time it was painful. This time he was living the fantasy.

At least in his fake worlds he had never met Magnus. Had never had to feel the unbearable pain of what it was like to lose him. In his life, his utterly and undeniably cruel life, he had met Magnus. He had fell in love with him thinking that Magnus was his forever. That unlike everything else in his life Magnus would be permanent. He wasn't supposed to be something that left after seven years.

The people who had shown up to his funeral expected him to give a eulogy speech. Alec knew more than enough about his husband. He could have gone on and on about how he got ready in the morning and took care of Alec's cuts and bruises at night. He'd memorized that first few pages of his favorite book. He could even read off a list of all the places he'd gone in his long life.

What he couldn't do was put into words how much he'd loved Magnus. How he wished he hadn't taken their time together. How he wanted to take back all the times he had thought that Magnus would have found it easy to lose him. Or how he wished he'd avoided every petty argument, and spent less time at the institute. Most of all he wished that he could have given Magnus everything that he gave him.

So instead Catarina gave the speech. She truly did a lovely job, reciting one of the many adventures Magnus had been on, and she certainly did it with less tears than he would have.

So here he was. Standing alone in front of the tombstone. The rain that was pouring down seemed appropriate for the day. Without an umbrella Alec was soaked to the bone, the fabric of his suit was clinging to his body, but he didn't notice.

The funeral hadn't given him the closure he needed, he needed more. A funeral was supposed to be a way to say goodbye, and Alec wasn't ready to do that.

"I miss you," Alec said, his voice cracking as he tried to keep himself from crying. "It isn't fair that you're gone."

If he could, Magnus would have told him that life wasn't fair. That even he had to go sometimes.

"I should have told you I loved you," Alec admitted. "I was in such a rush to leave that morning, I just thought that you'd be there when I got back…I thought you would _always_ be there."

It used to be so easy for him to think of lives without Magnus. It had just been curiosity. How had he once entertained the idea so easily.

"You've been gone three days," The way he said it made it sound like Magnus was simply on vacation. "Doesn't everybody say it gets easier with time? For me it has only gotten worse. Here I was thinking that after I died, you would learn to live with it in time. I was such a fool."

Truth be told, Alec hadn't shed a single tear since he died. There were always people around him, and the last thing he wanted to do was make them worry. So he had held it all in, trying to control himself so the people that he loved wouldn't fret over him.

Now he had collapsed to the ground, the rain drops mixing with his tears until he could no longer tell which was which. The only thing he could bring himself to say after that was "I love you" and it meant more every time he said it.

All of the sudden an arm wrap around his shoulder, and then he realized that the raindrops were no longer hitting him. He looked to the side and saw it was Isabelle, she wrapped her arms around him tighter to try and stop him from shivering. Isabelle, who rarely like to get dirty, was kneeling in the mud with him, crying softly into the crook of his neck. He was always the one to comfort her, he was her big brother, but for the first time ever it was her turn.

Simon was holding an umbrella above them in one hand, while squeezing Izzy's shoulder with the other. Behind him, just out of his view, he could hear Clary choking back tears, and letting the occasional whimper escape. Where Clary was, Alec knew that Jace was, probably holding her close to him.

Alec didn't know what life was going to be without Magnus, but he knew who he was because of Magnus. He knew that because of Magnus, his loved ones were reaching for their partners and never letting go, because even love that is supposed to be definite can go down in flames.

Alec would do anything to see his warlock again. What he would give to kiss him, to hug him, to feel what it's like to wake up next to him. He was sure that he would never love anyone like he loved Magnus. But he still had people who he loved, and that cared for him.

As his friends and family surrounded him, he continued to say I love you. Except now he wasn't just saying it to Magnus.

 **A/N: Sorry for this rambling. I don't know if it made any sense. The circumstances around Magnus' death are supposed to be a mystery so don't feel like you missed it. Sorry if this wasn't Malec-y enough.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey so I haven't really been getting reviews lately I guess that means I need to step up my game. Also sorry about how depressing the last one-shot was, I'm giving you this one to make up for it. Finally I have an announcement to make but I'll save that until the end of the story.**

 **Title:** **Your Turn**

 **Summary:** Ever since they adopted Samuel, there have only been sleepless nights. The pair starts to wonder if this was a mistake, and maybe its keeping them apart. 

For Alec there were only two reasons to be awake at four in the morning. One, was sex, and the other was, fighting demons. Now here he was, in bed at 4 in the morning, with Magnus groaning beside him, but not for a good reason.

"This is the eleventh time," Magnus said rubbing his face.

"Samuel likes attention," Alec yawned. "You must be rubbing off on him."

Magnus rolled onto his side and then wrapped his arms around his fiancé, and kissed the area where his neck met his shoulder, sending shivers down Alec's spine.

"It's your turn to go check on him," Magnus murmured into the crook of his neck.

"No its not," Alec said squirming out of Magnus' embrace and wrapping the blanket around him tighter as if to say there was no way in hell he was getting out of bed.

"Oh come on," Magnus said sleepily, and Alec could feel his hot breath on the nape of his neck. "You've only gotten up twice."

"Yes, but I got up every time last night since you were out with Clary, Izzy, and Maia," Alec said rolling around so he was face to face with Magnus. Ever since they'd gotten Samuel they'd been sleeping with the light on to make getting in and out of the rather large master bedroom easier, and because of this Alec could see Magnus clearly. His eyes were puffy with sleep deprivation, and his hair was sticking out at all ends, but somehow he was making the whole look work, like he always did.

"It was Clary's bachelorette _party_ , I had to be there," Magnus insisted. "Besides what about those two nights you were out demon hunting with Jace. The stress of not knowing where you were was keeping me and the baby up."

They had officially adopted Samuel two months ago. They'd toyed around with the idea for a few weeks before officially taking him in. It was as if some cruel twist of fate made their schedules increasingly hectic almost immediately after, and they rarely ever saw each other. Tonight had been one of the rare exceptions. Too bad they were both too do anything fun."

The baby's wailing was getting louder and louder. The two had come to the realization that Samuel didn't like being alone, so every time he woke up he would cry out until someone came and held him.

"Okay if you go take care of him now, I will cancel all of my clients, and spend the whole day here," Magnus promised.

"You already are staying home remember," Alec reminded him. "I'm guest speaking at the Shadowhunter Academy.";.

"That's today?" Magnus questioned and Alec could practically hear the wheels in his head turning. "Oh Alexander, what were we thinking. Adopting a baby when we live the way we do."

By now Alec had buried his entire face in his pillow to try and drown out the babies screaming. He knew that this definitely did not make him "Dad of the Year" but he thought that maybe if he couldn't hear him the baby would actually stop crying.

"We need a nanny," Alec grumbled into his pillow.

"Good luck with that. Especially since the only nannies are mundane, and you would have to explain why the baby has cat claws," Magnus replied sarcastically.

"I've already rescheduled twice Magnus," Alec explained. "Pretty soon they're just going to ask Jace or Izzy to do it."

"Go back to sleep, I'll go take care of Samuel," Magnus caved. "And I'll just call Jocelyn tomorrow and see if she can babysit last minute. I'm sure she's used to it by now."

Alec felt the bed shift as Magnus got up. He turned on his side and watched as a shirtless Magnus grabbed a white v-neck off of the nightstand and shrugged it on, much to Alec's disappointment.

When he left, Alec laid on his back, and stared at the ceiling. It was 4:30 right now, and he knew that if he wanted to, he could easily get another four hours of sleep before he had to get up in the morning. Yet his thoughts were keeping him awake.

Alec had never really loved many people. Which is why he'd been surprised how easily it had come with Magnus. Sure, he had denied it early on, but now he always had. Alec never thought he would love somebody in that way again. That was before Magnus had brought Samuel home The little boy had been all alone, and although he was a warlock like Magnus, Alec saw himself in him. Throughout his childhood he had felt alone, sure he had his sister and Jace, but he still felt empty. And this baby was all by his self. When Alec had stared into his eyes, he knew that he couldn't let the baby grow up alone.

What had happened between then and now? Wasn't he supposed to be the one making Samuel feel loved? Samuel was literally crying because he woke up all alone and he had practically begged Magnus to go to him.

For a second it was like his feet knew what to do before he did, because he was out of bed before even had time to process what he was doing. He walked over to the dresser across the room where he had left his phone to charge over the night. He dialed the number of the Academy and after about four rings, the person on the other line picks up.

"Hello?" A man said, and Alec could hear his confusion, he had forgotten what time it was.

"Hi sorry I know it's late," Alec says apologetically. "It's Alec Lightwood, I was a supposed to give a guest lecture today."

"Yes I know, I recognized the number," The man said annoyed.

"Well I think I'm going to have to reschedule," Alec told him. "Something came up and it's really important-"

"Listen, Mr. Lightwood I understand that these things happen. Sadly, we really need someone to speak now and since you have proven yourself unreliable, I will have to find someone else. Are you sure that you can't make it" He stated bluntly.

Jace, Izzy, and even Clary, had been invited to speak at the Academy dozens of times. Each of them had gone on and on about how good it felt. Alec however, hadn't done it once. When he had asked his mother about it she said _"You aren't necessarily the kind of Shadowhunter that they want the kids to aspire to be"_ which was code for _"They don't want them to think it's okay to be gay and date Downworlders."_ That's why making this decision was so hard.

"I'm sure," Alec sighed. "Maybe some other time."

"Yes, perhaps. Goodbye Mr. Lightwood," The man said quickly and hung up.

Alec sat the phone down and rubbed his eyes, trying to fight the sleep. Samuel's crying had gotten quieter, but it remained obnoxiously loud. It didn't take him long to decide that he wanted to go and help Magnus. He left his bedroom and walked into the nursery across the hall.

Apparently a life of shadowhunting had made it so that Magnus didn't hear him when he entered the room, either that or the screaming baby. So for about a minute or so, he just stood there leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed across his chest. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched his warlock rock Samuel in his crib. Alec didn't know it was possible to love two people so much at the same time.

Pretty soon Alec couldn't help himself. He walked over to Magnus and hugged him from behind, catching his future husband by surprise. Then he kissed him on the cheek and rested his chin on his shoulder, keeping his arms wrapped around him tight.

"Hi," Alec said softly.

"Alexander?" Magnus said raising an eyebrow. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"Couldn't," Alec shrugged. Looking over Magnus' shoulder, Alec could see Samuel, who had his purplish eyes open wide, and his face was red from all the crying. "Why aren't you holding him."

Magnus laughed, "I'm so tired I think I might drop him."

Alec hesitantly unwrapped himself from Magnus, and then went to lift Samuel out of his cradle.

"Hi Sammy," Alec cooed as he held the baby close to his chest. "It's time to go back to sleep little man." He was very aware of Magnus' eyes glued on him, as he swayed back in forth with the baby. Five minutes passed and eventually Samuel dozed off, his little fingers grasping Alec's thumb.

Gently, Alec placed him back in his cradle, trying his best not to disturb him. He turned around and face Magnus, who was grinning at him, the same way he had while watching Magnus earlier.

"Why are you looking at me like that," Alec asked.

"I just really love you," Magnus said throwing his hands up in the air.

Alec chuckled and shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at the cradle. "You know, he's just going to wake up in half an hour and start crying when he realizes we aren't here."

"Well," Magnus said grabbing Alec's hands and leading him toward an arm chair. "How about we be here." Before he could ask him what he meant, Magnus flopped down onto the chair, pulling Alec with him.

"You want to sleep on this thing," Alec protested.

"It's cozy," Magnus explained.

"I'm cold," Alec added.

"You're always cold," Magnus murmured, and brought Alec closer to him. Then as if he knew what Alec was going to say next, he snapped his fingers and a blanket materialized on top of him.

"That's better," Alec said and then rested his head on Magnus' chest. "This is actually kind of nice."

"Remind me to call Jocelyn tomorrow," Magnus mentioned.

"About that," Alec told him. "I'm actually staying home tomorrow. I cancelled my thing."

"When are you going, instead?" Magnus asked.

"I'm not," Alec said trying to pass it off like it didn't bother him. "At least not any time soon."

"You know, I'm feeling a bit under the weather," Magnus lied. "I think I'll have to move my clients to tomorrow."

"Magnus it's too late for me to call them back," Alec said. "I appreciate the gesture, but you should just deal with your clients."

"I'm not doing it so you can go give your speech," Magnus said softly. "I want to spend more time with my boys."

"Smooth," Alec teased him and looked up only to find that Magnus was already looking down at him. They ended up just sitting there with their foreheads against each other. They both fell asleep like that, intertwined, and inseparable.

 **A/N:** I apologize if you thought that was short. It's just that its 10:30 and I didn't sleep a wink last night, plus I have class tomorrow, and I have to get up early tomorrow and do some work. I still really wanted you guys to have something so I gave you whatever this is.

Anyway I promised you guys an announcement; I will be starting an _actual_ story. Not a bunch of one shots, something with an actual plot. I know, I know try to contain yourself, I can hear you screaming through my laptop screen (she says with much sarcasm). What that plot is going to be…well…I kind of need your help with that. You see I don't have the best track record with full length stories, but I have never enjoyed writing for a ship more than I have with Malec, so I believe I can actually carry this thing through until the end. What I wanted to ask you guys is what you want to read about. Is there anything specific you want to read about? Life after City of Heavenly Fire? High school AU? Fairytale AU? Or maybe something that hasn't been so done to death. Let me know in a review, or message me. As always let me know what you think of my one-shots, follow, and favorite.

Kisses –Willifertho (Yes I just PLLed this bitch)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Hello lovelies. It's been awhile since I've posted a one-shot. It was a nice little break from writing I Can Still Recall Our Last Summer. It's so much fun writing them all in love and crap. So here is something short and sweet.

 **Title:** Another Year Here With You

 **Point of View:** Third person Magnus

 **Rated:** T

 **Summary:** Alec and Magnus celebrate having made it through yet another year together. (No baby Max, sorry!)

When you get to be as old as Magnus, New Years because something of minor importance. The years begin to fade together, and things that normal mundanes would celebrate, are forgotten. He never really cared about New Years. Despite the fact that another year had passed, he hadn't gotten any older, well not physically, and he never would.

It never became that important until he met Alec. For Shadowhunters, New Years was one of the biggest days of the year. Since they had such a short life span, every year they had was a treasure. Usually, they went all out. There were huge parties at the major institutes, ones that would put even Magnus' to shame. The New York institute had quite the reputation for throwing the grandest parties, not that Magnus ever got invited, him being a Downworlder and all.

There was more to Magnus' new love for New Years, than just the fact that Shadowhunters through amazing parties. His Alec didn't even enjoy the celebrations they threw, and opted instead for a night in watching the ball drop on television. It was the fact that every minute he got to spend with him was a gift, because as mentioned before, a Shadowhunter's life is fleeting. And for an immortal warlock, their life seemed to be over in a blink of an eye.

He wished, oh how he wished, he could stay like this with Alec forever. Alec's head fit perfectly in the crook of his neck, almost as if it was meant to be there. He was the love he thought he'd never have, and he didn't think he would ever be ready to lose him and his beautiful blue eyes.

His boyfriend was still very young. You could see it in the way his face lit up with curiousity every time Magnus told him a story about his travels; there was still so much of the world that he hadn't seen yet so much he didn't know about. And he might never even get too. Demon hunting can be very time consuming.

Which is why for the first time ever, time was precious to him. Everything about Alec was precious to him, every flaw and imperfection was perfect to him. All of the holes in his sweaters that he always complained about, but in reality he thought were adorable. The way he would blush whenever Magnus kissed him in public. And the way that all he had to do to solve all of their petty arguments was kiss him, and somehow all of their problems would solve themselves. He was deeply, undeniably, in love with Alec Gideon Lightwood. If you told him that by not meeting he would be saving himself from a lifetime of pain, he would tell you that he would die before he gave up even a second of holding Alec close to him

"Ten more minutes until midnight," Alec mumbled, and reached down to intertwine his fingers with Magnus'. Alec's eyes were only half open, and he was about to drift off on Magnus' chest.

"Just hang in there, Alexander," Magnus said softly and kissed Alec's hairline. He had been out late with Jace last night, and Magnus knew just how much Alec would hate himself if he fell asleep so close to midnight, no matter how tired he was.

"I'm fine," Alec promised and sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Magnus chuckled and leaned over to kiss his cheek, and after he decided to trail light kisses down his neck. It wasn't everyday that this particular part of his body wasn't covered by a sweater.

"Yeah, okay, now I'm definitely awake," Alec joked, but his eyes were wide. Magnus stopped and just smiled against his neck. He honestly could not remember a point in his life where he had been this happy.

"Glad I could help," Magnus replied, and reluctantly moved his face away from Alec.

Alec's phone buzzed on the coffee table, and Alec shot up. He was on his feet in less than a second. Shadowhunters' weren't the only ones that enjoyed New Years. Demons found that it was the perfect time to terrorize the mundanes because everyone was so drunk and rowdy that they weren't thinking clearly. For them it was like a really late Christmas present. Being here meant that his Nephlim boyfriend had to be ready at a moments notice if someone were to call saying they had to leave. Usually they would do a sweep of the city before the festivities began, but if a problem arose, well; the job always came first.

"It's a text from Jace," Alec frowned as he picked up the phone. Magnus groaned and Alec shot him a look as if to say: "Hey this is what you signed up for."

He'd known exactly what he was getting when his relationship with Alec had started years ago. It meant inconsistency, never knowing when the next time they were going to see each other was; or if they'd ever see each other again at all. It meant Magnus having to portal to another country to deal with a foreign client for days, or Alec having to go pay a visit to other institutes because they were short handed. All of it made their time together, the time they were supposed to have together, even more special. And Magnus found himself a little irritated that he was going to have to leave.

"He just wanted to wish me a happy New Year," Alec sighed with relief.

Magnus let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in. "Doesn't he know midnight isn't for another-" He looked at his watch, "Five minutes?"

"He said something about him and Clary celebrating alone after midnight, which I really don't want to think about," He crinkled his nose, something he did when he was trying to block out a thought, and Magnus thought it was the most adorable thing ever.

"Well I guess it's a good thing he texted you now because you and I will be busy later as well," Magnus said. He reached out for Alec's hands and pulled him onto his lap, so they were sitting face to face. Then he grabbed the fabric of Alec's shirt and used it to bring him into a kiss, one that Alec surrendered to with no resistance. The two of them did this so much that their impromptu make out sessions that when they kissed, they were perfectly in sync with each other. For example Magnus knew that Alec's lips were always a little cold, and that his boyfriend liked be in control during the kiss. Their tongues didn't "fight for dominance" like they always do in sappy romance novel, everything they did was perfectly together. Yet every time they kissed it was new and exciting.

"Okay," Alec pulled away but was still clutching the collar of Magnus' dress shirt, "No more me until the ball drops."

"Oh come on Alexander," Magnus pouted. "That's a whole three minutes away. He attempted to kiss him again, but Alec just put two fingers in front of Magnus' mouth to act as a barrier.

"No I want to kiss you at midnight," He explained. "Not already be kissing you at midnight.

"Fine anything for you, I suppose," Magnus teased, and Alec got off of Magnus so he was just sitting next to him on the couch, obviously very pleased with himself. "But I'm not sure how I'm going to survive these next two minutes."

"I know what you can do," Alec said and laid his head on Magnus' shoulder, looking up at him was his striking blue eyes. "You can tell me what your New Year's resolution is. I told you what mine was this morning. How I wanted to get the Clave to recognize the marriage of a Shadowhunters and Downworlders as a real thing." 

"I don't do resolutions," Magnus said casually, stroking his slender fingers through Alec's hair.

"I don't buy it," Alec told him. "Everyone wants something to go differently in the new year. Everyone wants something to change. Now tell me or nothing will be happening tonight."

"That's the thing though, I don't want anything to change. I want exactly what I have now. I want you here with me, married or not. I've been alive a long time my love, and this is the closest thing to perfection one can ever get. So no, I don't have a New Years resolution, because I have everything I could ever want right in front of me." 

"Dammit that was a really good answer," Alec said as he rested his head against Magnus'.

"Well that's good because we only have ten seconds until midnight," Magnus replied as he used his thumb to trace Alec's jaw. It was strongly set, it made him look stubborn, like all Nephlim.

 _10_

His Alec was beautiful, he took his breath away, ratty sweaters and all

 _9_

His Alec was kind, and it saddened him that people didn't see that

 _8_

His Alec was closed off from so much, but somehow found him worthy to be part of his life

 _7_

His Alec was strong, and he gave him strength when he needed it.

 _6_

His Alec was brave, he'd fought off all of the things keeping them apart.

 _5_

His Alec was everything that he couldn't be, that he would never be.

 _4_

His Alec…was his.

 _3_

Magnus didn't get to finish his thought, because Alec had grabbed the sides of his face, and kissed him so softly and tenderly that everything else seemed to disappear. A couple seconds later he could hear people on the television cheering and applauding.

"We still had two seconds," Magnus said.

"Well I couldn't wait, now shut up," Alec said and pulled him down on top of him.

It was a New Year, and nothing was going to change. Not if Magnus could help it.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello lovelies I hope your life is well! My life is hectic right now we have a lot of testing coming up. The next chapter of my main story will be up soon, hopefully by next weekend. I hope everyone is enjoying Shadowhunters. I'm obsessed, Harry is a perfect Magnus and, Matthew is everything I could want and more in Alec (except for blue eyes but ya know genetics suck). This story has remained halfway done for months now so this is the perfect time to wrap it up before it drives me insane.**

 **Title:** Goodbye For Now

 **Rating:** T (For angst)

 **Summary:** Death is the only sure thing in life. Unless you're Magnus. Then you have to watch the love of your life die, and you just keep going. And with every decade that passes the pain never dulls, but your memory starts to fade. With his family gone, he feels alone. Until Alec manages to cheer him up from beyond the grave.

The first one to die was Jace. And if he was being honest it didn't come as a shock to Magnus. The blonde was always pushing himself beyond his limits, it's like he thought he still had fire running through his veins. The things was that even when he did have it, he wasn't invincible. He never had been and never would be.

Alec had just walked into the living room after putting Max to bed. He was going through the stage of his life where his magic was really starting to develop. It was like a special form of puberty for warlocks, except it happened when you were around five years old. One of the side effects was that it made you extremely hyper because of all the energy coursing through your body. Which meant bed time wasn't really a priority.

He was supposed to be with Jace that night. In fact if he hadn't been up late with Max that night, he would have been fighting side by side with him, and they would have been buried the same way.

Magnus had seen many parabatai bonds severed in his lifetime, and he always thought that the closer the two people were; the more it hurt. When Alec collapsed on the ground, hands clutching his chest, he knew it was true, because he had never seen anyone react that way. Despite all the agony he was obviously in, he was desperately trying to crawl to the door, as if it would somehow make a difference. All Magnus had been able to do was crouch down next to him and wrap his arms around his waist and pull him against him. The worst part was that. He had no idea what to say, so all he did was whisper "I'm sorry", as Alec sobbed into the fabric of his shirt.

Clary and her daughter came to stay with them for about a month after that. Apparently everything in the institute reminded her of Jace. She completely shut down, she couldn't even hold her daughter, who had no idea what was going on. The only person she was talking to was Alec. The two of them had never been close, but they had locked themselves in that guest bedroom for that month. Leaving Magnus to take care of Ada. He supposed that it was a good thing that she was only one year old at the time, she probably didn't even notice her father was gone.

Clary's era of mourning stopped after exactly one month, and not a day more. She simply emerged from the guest bedroom, picked up her seraph blade in one hand, and her kid in the other, and left. Without a word. She just went back to the institute, back to Simon and Izzy, like she had never had to witness her husband's funeral.

He always admired her for that, the way she carried herself. At the time, he had no idea what he was going to do when Alec died, he always did his best to push the thought out of his mind. But the whole ordeal with Jace had brought all those hellish thoughts to the surface, and he found himself holding Alec's hand even tighter, not wanting him to slip through his fingers.

Eventually she left the New York institute, she couldn't stay there, and who could. Part of him wished they had stayed, because he cared for Clary more than he did for most people, and he'd even grown quite fond of little Ada, who would eventually grow up to be the spitting image of her father.

About a year later Simon called them. He was breathing heavily, and it was like he couldn't bring himself to speak. All he could say was "something is wrong."

They'd all seen Clary before it happened, it hadn't been like she had cut herself out of their life. She came back on holidays and birthdays, and there were a lot of birthdays since Isabelle and Simon had two kids, with a set of twins on the way.

She had a beautiful service, one not typical of most shadowhunters, because Clary Fray had and would never be just a shadowhunter.

Magnus had wanted to say bye to Jocelyn before he and Alec went home, and when he found her she was screaming at members of the Clave, as she held small little Ada who was hiding her face in the crook of her grandmother's neck.

" _Magnus, Magnus they won't let us take her," She sobbed, tears streaming from her eyes. "Since Luke and I aren't shadowhunters they won't…they won't let me take my own granddaughter, she's all I have left of he-"_

" _Ada Herondale will be well taken care of in the Berlin Institute-," A Clave member interrupted, at hearing that Jocelyn started crying hysterically._

" _You can't take her to Germany her family is here, in New York. It's where her parents are buried," Alec protested, suddenly appearing next to Magnus._

" _Berlin is where her mother was when she died, and they are going to need more nephlim to train there, after the incident," The man said flatly._

 _Next to him, Alec was clenching his fists. Nobody was talking about what happened in Berlin yet. The city had been completely overrun with demons, and nobody knew where they had come from. But Clary and many others had been slaughtered protecting it. Everyone knew that the real thing Clary had been defending was Ada, she didn't care about anything or anyone else._

" _That's why we have the cup now," Alec said through gritted teeth. "You can't bring her back there, it still isn't safe in Berlin."  
_

" _I'm afraid we have no other option," The man insisted and tried to reach for Ada, but Jocelyn had been faster, sidestepping him without missing a beat, and shoving the girl into a shocked Alec's arms. Then she clutched Magnus' hands._

" _You two have to take her," She pleaded. "Please, I would ask Simon, but that would mean she'd be at the institute, and that means I won't be able to see her as often. And you loved Clary right, and Alec I know you loved Jace he was basically your brother, this your niece. If she has to be a shadowhunter can't she live with you, please?_

" _Of course," Alec answered burying his nose in Ada's curly blonde hair. Magnus knew that there wasn't going to be a discussion, not that there needed to be. And as he kissed the top of Ada's head he was certain that they had fallen in love with that little girl a long time ago, and neither of them were ready to let her go again._

So they adopted Ada, and the whole process took about three weeks of convincing the Clave it was the best option. It didn't take Max long to warm up to the idea of having Ada around. By day three he had magicked up a crib for her, which Magnus had promptly replaced when Max wasn't looking, seeing as childhood magic was extremely unstable.

When she was little, Jocelyn would come over whenever she could to watch her, so that he and Alec could do their job, and more importantly spend time together. When she turned eight, Alec started taking her to the institute with him so she could start learning, and Magnus was busy teaching a 12 year old Max how to control his powers.

" _They are all going to die someday," Max had said one day, blue fire flickering on his fingers. "Dad, Ada, even Uncle Simon and Aunt Isabelle…my cousins, they are all going to die and I'll just keep on going. We keep on living until one day we can't even remember what they looked like. Is that how it works?"_

 _Magnus sat his book down on his desk and looked back at his son. His little boy who was supposed to be so innocent, had somehow become so aware of the world, and Magnus hadn't noticed. Maybe he should have when Max stopped wearing graphic t-shirts, and switched it out for all black. Or maybe when his black nail polish had started disappearing from his bathroom drawers, and he had just assumed it was Ada. He should have known, his little tomboy had shown very little interest in makeup._

" _When I was just a little younger than you, my step-father tried to drown me, after my mom hung herself because I was such a burden," Magnus told his son._

" _Is this supposed to make me feel better?" Max asked._

" _There are two things that you will always remember, the times you almost died, and the people you loved. And while my parents grew to hate me, they loved me once, and I loved them. And I still think of them everyday," Magnus said. "So Max, you will never forget any of them. You just have to remember to love with all of your heart, and never stop being open to the idea of love. Or else, what's the point of being immortal?"_

" _But they're still going to die someday, maybe it will be easier to just forget them," Max choked out._

 _"Yes," Magnus tapped his finger against his chin. "We can't help that. And honestly the best thing for you to do is not to think about it."_

That's exactly what the both of them did. They pushed it out of their mind for the next ten years. The older Alec got, the less hunting he did, as was typical with Nephlim. He took his role as correspondent between Downworlders and Nephlim very seriously. But every once in awhile he would go hunting with Isabelle and Simon, to remind themselves of the old days, and as a way to honor Jace and Clary. Sometimes he would even take Ada out. Magnus imagined it reminded him of hunting with Jace. Ada had become a carbon copy of her dad. Except with shorter hair, and an even bigger ego.

" _Can't Simon and Izzy's kids take care of it," Magnus had asked Alec that night. "They live for this stuff."_

" _I called Jonah and he isn't picking up," Ada said as she slipped a blade into her combat boot and grinned at him before kissing his cheek. "Calm down dad, I'll keep this old man safe."_

" _I am not that old," Alec protested, grabbing his bow off the table._

" _For a shadowhunter you are," Ada teased him. "Now come on, demons high on cocaine wait for no man!" Ada ran out the door, probably half expecting her father to be following her, but Alec never left without saying goodbye to Magnus._

" _We'll be home in a few hours," He said and cupped the back of Magnus' head with his hand, and kissed him softly. Everyday, he'd wished he'd relished that kiss. Maybe made it last just a little bit longer, and things could have been different._

 _Five hours later, Magnus had given up on Alec and Ada getting home anytime soon, and fallen asleep. Alec had a habit of taking her out for drinks every time they went hunting, not wanting the adrenaline rush he'd get to end. He was sure that by tomorrow morning his husband would have an enormous hang over, and he would be more than willing to wait on him hand and foot._

 _His phone started ringing at 3:28 am, the time was forever etched into his brain, and every time he so much as glanced at the clock at that time he wanted to throw up._

" _Hello?" He said groggily. "Alexander I swear to god if you are going to make me come pick you up-"  
_

" _Daddy," He heard Ada crying on the other line. She hadn't called him daddy since she was eleven years old."_

" _Darling what's wrong?" Magnus sat up in bed, and he was already reaching for the pants sprawled on the ground._

" _I don't know…there is so much blood," She said and her voice trailed off and she stopped talking into the phone. "Dad no, wake up, please wake up, dad is coming you'll be fine."_

 _Magnus knew he was supposed to do something, supposed to go to them, but he was frozen. All he could hear was Ada crying, and more importantly he couldn't hear his Alec at all._

 _"It's so dark daddy," She was screaming now. "Please, please help."_

He couldn't complain. He had gotten more time with Alec than most shadowhunters got in a lifetime. And he had loved every minute of it. Every late night talk, every kiss in the rain, every Friday night in, and even every fight, every time one of them stomped out of the loft, every apology.

After Alec died Isabelle came and stayed with him for awhile. It wasn't for the same reason Clary had, Clary had needed them, and Isabelle was one of the strongest people he'd ever met. She was there for him, and his family. Magnus couldn't bring himself to do anything for weeks, and Isabelle would just sit there with him, telling him stories of her brother that he had heard a billion times before, but still found oddly comforting.

" _I have something for you," Isabelle said as she hugged him the day she left._

" _Isabelle Lightwood-Lovelace you have done enough," Magnus assured her._

" _Oh trust me I know, you're a slob when you're depressed. Seriously Chinese food boxes everywhere, use a trash can," Isabelle rolled her eyes, but she was smiling at him. Next she was reaching into her back pocket, and she pulled out a flash drive. "Alec gave this to me awhile back. He said if he ever…if he ever died before me, he wanted me to give it to you."_

 _Magnus took the piece of plastic from Isabelle's hand. "Did you look at this?"_

" _A little bit last night," Isabelle admitted. "I really miss him."_

" _I understand," Magnus promised, he could never be mad at someone for missing Alec. No one understood that like he did._

" _I stopped after the first couple minutes," Isabelle mentioned. "The video seems really personal."_

" _It's a video?" Magnus asked and he could feel himself getting excited at the prospect of hearing Alec's voice._

" _Yeah, but Magnus if you want my advice, I would wait awhile to watch it," She offered and she must have been able to see the confusion on his face because she continued. "I know you always say you won't forget Alec, but let's be honest, you will forget the small stuff. So if you ever find yourself forgetting his smile or his blue eyes watch it then."_

He missed Isabelle more than he thought he would. The two of them had grown close these last few years after Alec died. Her and Simon lived for a few more years after, Isabelle dying within a few months of Simon. After that everyone's children seemed to scatter. Last he heard, the twins were in Indianapolis, Jonah was preparing to take over the Berlin Institute, and their other daughter Sadie appeared to have dropped off the face of the earth. Rumor was that she had fallen in love with a mundane, and ran away with him, to scared of being stripped of her marks.. Some people believed that Jocelyn helped her since she was the only one who had ever managed to do it, but the point was that nobody was looking for her.

Technically Ada was a part of the New York institute, but she and her fiancé traveled so much it was like she was rarely here. She was a lot like her parents in the sense that she didn't listen to the Clave, and would often pop in whenever she felt like it.

Max on the other hand, rarely came home. It had been a year since he had last seen him, and Magnus was fairly certain that he didn't plan on coming back until everyone was dead; until his sister and every one of his cousins were gone. He was cutting himself off from everyone because he thought it would make it easier when they died, when in fact it would just fill him with regret.

He did get a post card from Peru. It wasn't signed but the message was clear, Max had gone to the only place Magnus couldn't get to him.

Whenever Magnus had thought about forgetting Alec, he imagined it taking hundreds of years. And even then he imagined it only being insignificant little details. The thing was, that there was nothing insignificant about Alec. Every tiny detail, was something he wanted, no, needed to remember. Yet it seemed like his brain was reacting in the way he had trained it to, centuries before Alec had even been born. He'd had his heart broken so many times, and it was easier to force himself to let go of the memories of his lovers, than hang onto them when all it did was cause unnecessary pain. Sadly, his mind had become conditioned to the response without him realizing it. It was a defense mechanism, one he didn't need, not for Alec. Remembering Alec was the only good thing in his life right now.

He missed Alec with every fiber of his being. Every morning he would wake up without him, and it felt like it was reopening a wound. The picture he had of the two of them on his nightstand probably didn't help. Keeping it there probably wasn't the most healthy thing in the world, but he couldn't bring himself to put it away. After all these years, Magnus still wanted to wake up to Alec's face.

That is what made the mornings the hardest. For just a brief a moment everything would be fine, but then it would all wash over him in one big wave. His Alec was gone. The love of his life, his immortal life, was never coming back.

This morning he woke up, and it was like every other morning. He was hungover, and alone. He sat up in bed in rubbed his face, squinting because the sunlight gave him a headache.

There was an empty bottle of white wine where Alec used to sleep.

Magnus glanced at the nightstand and had to do a double take. The picture that brought him so much comfort, was on the floor, the frame the two of them had picked out was shattered. He couldn't imagine a part of him, even in his drunkest state, that he would do that.

He could replace the frame, and even reprint the photo if need be. Somehow though, this was his breaking point.

The flash drive hadn't left the top drawer of his nightstand since Isabelle gave it to him. Having it there always tempted him, but having it nearby was comforting.

It only took him a second to rummage through the drawer before he found the drive, and then grabbed his laptop where it sat at the foot of his bed.

Plugging the flash drive into the USB port felt strange to him. It was like Alec had been living on through this video, and watching it would be like losing him all over again. He wasn't even over the first time.

Yet he needed to see Alec. Needed to hear his voice because he was already forgetting what it sounded like.

There were many files on the drive, but the dates were time stamped, and he clicked on the earliest one. Waiting for the video to buffer was agony, and Magnus was a very impatient man.

Then there was Alec, he was just sitting there smiling like an idiot, and Magnus had to pause the video before he started it. He had to take him in, take it all in. Magnus actually reached his thumb out to touch his cheek, and was surprised when the computer screen. Like a sixteen year old obsessed with a tv show, he'd forgotten that this wasn't real. This was the past. And it was time to let go. With one last deep breath, he pressed play.

" _Hey so this is really awkward," Alec started, and he looked as uncomfortable as he always did when he was being filmed. "I feel like I'm losing my mind talking to a camera at two in the morning."_

At the same time he laughed so did Alec, and he hadn't realized how much he had missed that until now. Being one of the only people that could make him laugh.

" _I don't know when you're watching this. For all I know it's hundreds of years in the future and you found this behind your bed while you were cleaning, buried under receipts for glitter or whatever you're wearing now," Alec shrugged. "I mean you probably do remember me, right? Well just in case my name is Alec Gideon Lightwood, except you always called me Alexander even though I hated it."_

Of course Alec never knew it, but Magnus always thought of him as Alec. The only reason he called him Alexander was because he was the only one who did.

And of course seeing Alec get angry at tiny little things was the most adorable thing in the world.

" _Also we have a kid, Max. We named him after my little brother, who you never met by the way, so don't feel bad if you can't remember him," Alec tried to assure him. "Although I suppose Max may have changed his name. You always said he might."_

The corners of his lips curled up into a small smile. It was just Alec to try and over explain everything, preparing for every circumstance. Like he could forget the father of his child was.

" _Anyways, let's just back up to present day," Alec said running his hands through his raven colored hair. "You just had a party to celebrate…something. You'd think that having a two year old would deter you from partying, but I think you're actually throwing them more. You're really lucky my parents love watching Max or else babysitter bills would be through the roof."_

Once again he found himself laughing at Alec's attempt at making a joke. Sure Alec hadn't been the funniest person in the world, he was more witty and sarcastic, a very acquired taste. There was just something about Alec being happy that made everyone happy. Possibly because he spent a large part of his life doing everything that didn't make him happy.

" _Do you know what time it is?," Alec accused him pointing to at what Magnus assumed was a clock that used to be hanging on the wall to his left. "It's 3 in the morning. It's easier to get Max to go to bed than you. I had to put sleeping pills in your water, honestly it's a miracle I got you to drink water. You went down half an hour ago. I wasn't sure how many pills to use. You should be fine…I think…hold on one second." With that Alec stood up and walked out of the camera's view. He could hear his footsteps walking towards what was probably their bedroom. Knowing himself though, he could have passed out anywhere._

Unlike Alec, Magnus wasn't a natural father. Being centuries old had caused him to become accustomed to a certain lifestyle, he'd never been responsible for another human life before. As years went by he got better, but Alec had been perfect right off the bat. He'd always been great at taking care of people. Whether it was Isabelle, his little brother, his parbatai, and even Magnus himself. And Magnus did remember that party. More importantly he remembered that he hadn't slept in days, and Alec had been doing everything to try and force him into bed.

" _Okay good news, you are alive," Alec said as he sat down. "Hugging a bottle of tequilla like a teddy bear, but you are alive, which is fine by me."_

Magnus eyed his empty bottle of wine guiltily. This wasn't what Alec wanted for him and he knew that. It was just that this life, was the only one he knew how to live without Alec. The only one he'd had, before that blue eyed boy had walked into his party.

" _Look I'm going to keep this short because I know you're probably busy, but I just, I just want to say how much I love you," Alec said, his voice got serious but his voice was shaking. "If you're watching this it means I'm dead. We both knew it was going to happen eventually. I hope I got to watch Max grow up. And I hope that you and I finally got married because it would mean that you and I got the stubborn ass clave to change their minds about something. And most of all I hope we got to do things that even you had never done."_

At some point Magnus must have started crying, because the eyeliner he'd forgotten to take off last night had gotten even more smudged; and it was supposed to be waterproof.

" _If I'm being honest part of me doesn't want you to move on, a very large part," He said shyly, and Magnus was almost taken aback. "But there is a larger part of me that just wants you to be happy. I always only want you to be happy, and I know that eventually you'll have to find that happiness without me, with someone other than me. And whether that means moving on in a year, or ten, or god forbid a hundred, I just want you to take care of yourself. To love yourself as much as I do. You can join me when you're ready, Love."_

For the first time in his life he felt like he couldn't breathe. Funny how even from beyond the grave Alec still managed to take his breath away. There had been nobody since Alec, and he wasn't sure there ever would be. Alec had been that one great love. The one that people wrote stories about and strived to achieve.

" _I'm going to go to bed," Alec sighed, and Magnus could tell he was exhausted. "But I'm going to try and make more of these, if only for my own sanity. It will probably just be ramblings, but I can't imagine a world where I don't get to talk to you a lot."_

Magnus remembered the many other files he had supposed were just clutter. All of the late nights Alec must have spent making them, because the two of them had spent every spare waking moment together.

" _I love you so much Magnus Bane. More than I ever said, and I should have said it more," Alec said and then did something that he wasn't expecting; and blew him a kiss. "Say hi to Max for me, and anybody else who might still be alive. Well, I guess this is goodbye for now."_

Goodbye for _now._ Magnus liked that. He liked it a lot.

" _Vloek deur!"_ He heard someone shout in Danish, followed by the sound of the front door slamming shut. He'd been meaning to get that fixed, for some reason it had been hard getting it to open recently. "Dad get your hungover ass out of bed, we're going shoppping!"

Ada. He scrambled for his phone and then saw the reminder on his phone. For the first time in forever, his daughter was letting him take her dress shopping. For her wedding day. She claimed that it was her wedding present for her fiancé, Emilie Blackstark. One of the few mundanes to survive ascension, and work her way up through the ranks. Ada had become captivated with her the instant she'd seen her at her ascension ceremony. She dyed her hair silver, and it brought out her golden like she had brought out the best in Ada, and it reminded him of a certain red head changing a certain self obsessed blonde.

In her typical fashion, she barged in without knocking, and Magnus silently thanked god that he was wearing his clothes from last night. Ada either didn't notice that he was a complete mess, or she didn't care. All she did was jump on to the foot of his bed.

"Where am I going to buy a golden dress," She said as she flopped down on her back and stared at the ceiling, the blonde waves in her pixie cut sticking up. "Plus it's going to be freezing. I don't want to be cold. Do you think Em would be mad if I wore my leather jacket."

"Ada honey if you wearing a that black monstrosity with any dress you are obviously not my daughter," Magnus said. Honestly the jacket itself was plain and simple, and Magnus had never been one to protest to leather. However when you watch your daughter wear the same article of clothing her whole life it can get quite tiring.

Her lip bent back into a pout, and she crossed her arms, reminding Magnus of her as a toddler. Stubborn and unamused by most things around her. Except now she had a finely shaped eyebrow raised, and a glimmer in her eyes that all Nephlim got when they knew something you didn't.

"Well just for that you're not getting your present," Ada stated getting off the bed.

"Ada," He said and he flicked his finger and a gold necklace appeared. "Anything you got for me I can very easily get myself."

She squinted her eyes and furrowed her brow, "Dad always said that when you use your magic like that whatever you conjure up is taken from somebody."

Magnus just shrugged, "Well I haven't got arrested yet."

Ada sighed, and then grinned, "Well I went all the way to Peru to get you my gift. And trust me it was very hard to track down. Em hated it since she's from Denmark and absolutely despises heat."

"What the hell is it with you two and dramatic entrances," Max said suddenly stepping into the room, and then turning to his sister. "You told me to wait out there in case he was asleep. Not for a spectacle."

It took Magnus a second to process who was standing in his room. Max was wearing a red plaid shirt, and jeans. Not typical warlock attire, but Max rarely used his magic after his father died, only taking on the occasional client to make ends meet, or so he was told.

The blonde stomped over to him, and let out a loud groan of frustration. "You are a complete idiot," She complained and punched his shoulder, but he could tell that it was in a loving way. The two of them always fought as children, but they couldn't have been closer. Which is why it broke Ada's heart when he left. Apparently, it was also why she started traveling more after he got the post card from Peru. "This was supposed to be my moment. What's next, are you going to marry my fiancé in three weeks.""

"You're wedding is in three weeks and you are just buying your dress now?" Max chuckled. When Ada's face got bright red it was obvious to everyone that that was the wrong thing to say.

"Do want to know why I'm just buying my dress now," Ada exploded poking the much larger boy in the chest with her finger. "Because you decided to go run off to Peru where nobody could find you. And then you had the nerve to send a freaking post card. So yes my bride to be and I were a little busy looking for you, so that I could bring you back here and kick your ass."

"Would the two of you be quiet for a second," Magnus asked, pressing his fingers to his temples. "I haven't seen siblings bicker like this since Isabelle and your father."

Max frowned, while Ada forced smile, more likely for his benefit. There was something in Max's eyes that told Magnus he was thinking about running. Mentioning their father so casually was something he was not ready for.

When it came to comforting their children, Alec had surprisingly been better. This is not to say that Magnus was a cold and distant parent; but when you wanted a pat on the back you went to Alec. And when you wanted a life lesson you went to Magnus.

Which is why it probably took Max by surprise when this father, had gotten out of bed, and ran across the floor in giant strides, to hug him. The way he should have hugged him when it was obviously he was hurting, but didn't because he was to busy shutting himself down. Max was stiff in his arms, and didn't even hug his father back, but Magnus could practically feel the weight being lifted from his shoulders.

"Dad says hi," Magnus whispered loud enough for both his kids to hear. Maybe he could find a way to manage without Alec. Unlike every other time he lost someone he loved, this time he had a family. And family never dies, it goes on forever, living through different people.

If there was one thing he knew, it was that he'd see Alec again, beyond his computer screen. Just not yet. For now it was just going to be… _goodbye for now._

 **A/N: Wow that was some unnecessary angst with an abrupt ending. Anyways I'm off to keep working on** **I Can Still Recall Our Last Summer.** _ **Yes,**_ **I am still working on that. For those who do read it, here is a sneak peek of the next chapter:**

" _ **Kissing Magnus was like walking on air. Alec felt weightless, and it was like the sun, the moon, and the stars were within his reach. In the last few weeks, Alec had lost track of how many times he'd kissed him. Every time they were alone, it seemed like one of them was pulling the other against them. All of it was passionate and casual. Something Alec never thought he would enjoy as much as he did."**_


End file.
